


Cnidaria

by Cân Cennau (cancennau)



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Autistic!Hermann, Autistic!Newt, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 18:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5753470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cancennau/pseuds/C%C3%A2n%20Cennau
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann remininisces on his first kiss, and Newt discovers their relationship may go back a lot farther than he originally thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cnidaria

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [here](thecolossalsquidexhibition.tumblr.com>thecolossalsquidexhibition</a>'s%20post%20on%20if%20Newt%20and%20Hermann%20knew%20each%20other%20as%20babs,%20found%20<a%20href=).

“Hey Hermann, when was your first kiss?”

It was a quiet sort of day, in the lab the twelve-hour respite between the downfall of yet another Kaiju and the delivery of fresh specimens for Newt. And also apparently time for another round of Newt’s favourite game, “Let’s Ask Your Exasperated Partner Potentially Inappropriate Questions”. Hermann put his chalk down with a sigh.

“I don’t remember it well,” he replied, half truthfully. He wandered over to Newt, who was sat cross-legged on his recently cleaned dissecting table. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m curious. Was it really that bad, that you forgot?”

“I… no.” Hermann thought for a minute. “I don’t know. It was a bit of a blur.”

“Need me to kiss you so you remember?” Newt waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Hermann gave him an exasperated look.

“I doubt it would help. I was four at the time.”

“Four? Getting in there early, it seems-”

“Oh Lord, please don’t finish that sentence.”

“I’m sorry.” Hermann could see Newt truly wasn’t sorry in the slightest. “But seriously, tell me.”

“Well…”

“Tell me, tell me, tell me-”

“I’m not telling you if you keep that up!”

Newt laughed. “Alright, alright!”

“I was… We went to an non-profit animal centre; me, Dietrich, Karla, Father and Mother. Bastien wasn’t born then.”

“A family trip out? This is sounding less romantic by the second.”

“Hush, you. I don’t remember much of the trip, but I remember being in the reptile house, hiding. I was scared - I think the crowds got too much-”

Newt reached out and took his hand, and Hermann gave him a smile.

“Well, anyway, another young boy was there. He gave me one of his toys, then a kiss when I told him that’s what mother used to do to make things better. My father found us later in the aquarium, info-dumping about jellyfish.”

Newt blinked. “Huh."

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting."

"No, I mean... I feel like that’s something _I_ remember.”

“What do you mean?”

“I…” Newt frowned. “I remember meeting a little boy when I still lived in Germany - I remember taking him to the aquarium. He liked the jellyfish best of all. I gave him my koosh ball, those furry stringy ball things - it was the one with-”

“-the patterns that looked like the sea?”

They stared at each other.

“You don’t think-”

“I have a photo-”

“I have the toy-”

They both darted over to their respective work areas - Newt tumbling over his desk to the bookshelf, and Hermann power walking to one of the few cabinets that didn’t house Kaiju remains. The sound of papers and items being hastily rearranged filled the lab, before Newt pulled a battered photo album from behind a case, and Hermann pulled an item from his stim box.

“Found it-!”

“Here-!”

They met back in the middle of the room. Hermann’s koosh ball was as he’d described it - varying shades of blue and green swirled along the strands, some of which looked as if they’d been bitten off by mistake. The photo Newt held depicted two boys with their backs to the camera, totally unaware of the photo being taken. One had spiky black hair, and was evidently mid sentence as he pointed at one of the jellyfish in the tanks. The other had mousy brown hair, and was avidly following one of the jellyfish through his circular glasses, a blue koosh ball in his tiny hand. There was no mistaking who they were.

“Dude-!”

“Dear _God-_ ”

Newt laughed. “I can’t believe it! I was your first kiss!”

“I can’t believe we actually _met_ \- the chances of us being in the exact same place at the exact same time-”

“I _know_ -” They switched items - Hermann inspected the photo more closely, and Newt tossed the koosh ball between his hands.

“I can’t believe you kept this, man.” Newt said, after a while. “It still has the bite marks where I used to chew it.”

“I thought a dog had made those marks.” Hermann confessed ruefully, and Newt snorted. “I played with it whenever I thought I could get away with it, and I never had the heart to throw it out - even though my family thought it was… childish. And unhygienic.”

“Their loss, I suppose.” Newt nestled his head on Hermann’s shoulder, and peered down at the photo once more. “That jumper - that’s your NASA one, right? You had it on in your school photos, I remember Dietrich and Karla showing me-”

Hermann rolled his eyes. “I cannot _believe_ they broke out the baby photos on your first visit-”

“It was _adorable_ , and that’s what older siblings are for, right?”

“...I suppose.”

“Right!” Newt paused. “What happened to that jumper, anyway? You seemed to love it.”

“I lost it, I think. When we moved to England.” Hermann laughed to himself. “Father brought it back for me when he went to the States for work, and I think he regretted it for the next four years as I refused to take it off. He was glad to see it go.”

“Huh.” Newt wrapped his arms around Hermann’s waist and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “I’m gonna buy you a new one for your birthday.”

“There’s no need-”

“No, no, we’re going to recreate this. I’m going to buy you that jumper, and we’ll spend the day at a non-profit place, close to here.”

“That sounds… nice.” Hermann leant back into Newt’s arms, felt them tighten around his middle, and smiled.

“And then we’ll make out a little in the reptile house.”

“I- _Newton!_ ”


End file.
